At 6 a.m. Saturday, Calhoun Street closes to cars between Meeting and Anson streets. Three hours later, the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation holds a public ribbon-cutting at 120 Calhoun Street and opens the Emanuel Nine Memorial. Admission is free and open to everyone. Thirty minutes after that, chef Kwame Onwuachi takes the stage at the Charleston Gaillard Center for a Charleston Literary Festival session. At 10 a.m., Food & Wine Classic cooking demonstrations start in the Gaillard. At noon, the Classic's Grand Tasting opens at the Charleston Visitor Center.
Most of the city's attention on Nov. 14 will be in the same few blocks around Marion Square, and in the same few hours. The Dock Street Theatre on Church Street hosts most of the weekend's literary events, but Saturday morning's activity is uptown. At its center is a new public place that will stay open long after both festivals have packed up.
A Memorial Beside Mother Emanuel
The Emanuel Nine Memorial is an outdoor sanctuary next to the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church, on Calhoun Street between Meeting and Elizabeth streets. Michael Arad of Handel Architects designed it. The Foundation's opening announcement says Saturday's program includes the ribbon-cutting, presentations honoring the lives and legacies of the Emanuel Nine, and gospel, jazz and poetry throughout the event. The application the event's organizers filed with the City of Charleston lists the ceremony from 9 a.m. to noon, with about 780 people expected.
After opening day, the memorial's visitor page lists these hours:
- Tuesday through Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
- Monday: closed
- Admission: free
- Guided tours: paid, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; groups arrange through [email protected]
Hours may shift for site operations and special events. Grieving families and churchgoers share the space with visitors, and the memorial asks everyone to treat the grounds accordingly.
For Saturday, the Foundation suggests three places to park: the lot on Henrietta Street, the city garage at the Gaillard Center on Alexander Street, and the Marion Square garage on King Street. The visitor page gives the garage addresses as 32 Alexander Street and 399 King Street and says each is about a five-minute walk from the memorial.
The Gaillard is also where the Onwuachi talk begins at 9:30 and where Food & Wine demonstrations start at 10, so a festival crowd will be arriving there at the same hour the memorial ceremony is underway.
Saturday Morning, Within a Few Blocks
| Time | What | Where | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 a.m. | Calhoun Street closes, Meeting to Anson | Calhoun Street | Reopens at 2 p.m. |
| 9 a.m. | Emanuel Nine Memorial ribbon-cutting | 120 Calhoun Street | Free, all welcome |
| 9:30 a.m. | Kwame Onwuachi with Hunter Lewis, "All Hours" | Charleston Gaillard Center | $35 plus fee |
| 10 a.m. | Food & Wine Classic demos and seminars | Gaillard, Emeline, Charleston Place, People Inc. Studios | Classic pass |
| 11 a.m. | Hermione Lee on Anita Brookner | Dock Street Theatre | $30 plus fee |
| Noon | Grand Tasting | Charleston Visitor Center | Classic pass |
The Food & Wine Classic pass costs $1,950 plus a $68.25 fee. It covers all four Grand Tastings and five live sessions of the buyer's choice. Friday and Saturday each have two tastings, from noon to 2 p.m. and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday has morning demonstrations only, with no Grand Tasting.
The Streets That Closed Early
The Classic's street closures began before the weekend did. Ann Street has been closed since Monday, and Wragg Square closed Thursday morning. According to the City of Charleston road-closure list:
- Ann Street, Meeting to King: closed for the Food & Wine Classic from 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, until 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15.
- Wragg Square, Ann to Meeting: closed for the Classic from 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, until 8 p.m. Sunday.
- Calhoun Street, Meeting to Anson: closed for the memorial opening ceremony from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
- George Street, St. Philip to Glebe: closed for the Southern Living Tailgate from 8 a.m. Saturday until 1 a.m. Sunday.
Taken together, the list follows Saturday's schedule. The closures sit north of Marion Square in the morning, then move to the College of Charleston campus for the evening. The Tailgate runs from 6 to 9:30 p.m. in the college's Cistern Yard.
Where the Two Festivals Share a Stage
The Literary Festival lists Onwuachi's 9:30 talk as "presented with Food & Wine Classic Charleston," and he is in conversation with Hunter Lewis, editor of Food & Wine. It is the festival's only session listed at the Gaillard; the others are at the Dock Street Theatre. A second chef session follows that afternoon. At 3 p.m. at Dock Street, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin and photographer Nigel Parry discuss Ripert's new book, "Mindful Cooking," with writer Luke Barr.
Lewis described the Classic's priorities to The Post and Courier: "This event doesn't happen without us centering Charleston and Lowcountry culture and the people who bring it to life." The same article names some of the Charleston talent in this year's lineup:
- Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary
- James London and Yoanna Tang of Chubby Fish and Seahorse
- Miles White and Femi Oyediran of Graft and Tutti Pizza
The Post and Courier also reported that chefs serve different bites at each of the four Grand Tastings. It covered People Inc. Studios as well, a new part of the festival where attendees take hands-on classes with Charleston artisans. Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque is cooking at Saturday's Tailgate, along with Maneet Chauhan, George Motz, Elliott Moss and Lewis Donald of Sweet Lew's BBQ in Charlotte.
What Is Still Open, What Is Sold Out, What Streams
Several of the weekend's ticketed events sold out early. As of early November, the Classic's signature events page listed these as sold out:
- Pearls of the Coast oyster roast: Friday, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., American Gardens, $295
- Lowcountry Tailgate: Saturday, Cistern Yard, $295
- Sea to Table: morning crabbing at The Docks on Ashley River with Tia Clark of Casual Crabbing with Tia, followed by a chef-hosted lunch
- Sunday afternoon add-ons: an American Revolution tour, a harbor cruise and The Sunday Slice at The Gadsden House
Many Literary Festival events, by contrast, could still be booked in early November. Standard Dock Street seats cost $30 plus a fee, and several talks also stream at home for $10 plus a fee. The streaming link arrives one hour before the session starts.
Friday, Nov. 13: Sarah Churchwell on Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" at 11 a.m., Sue Stuart Smith on gardening and mental health at 1 p.m., Liaquat Ahamed on "1873" at 3 p.m., and Curtis Sittenfeld at 5 p.m. Barbara Kingsolver's 7 p.m. talk on "Partita" costs $50 and includes a copy of the book. That session was sold out in early November, but a livestream ticket was available.
Saturday, Nov. 14: After the morning sessions, Michael Cunningham discusses his memoir "Unsayable" at 1 p.m. Ripert and Parry follow at 3, and Paul Goldberger talks about "The Imperfect City" with Vishaan Chakrabarti at 5. Jeanette Winterson closes the day at 7 with "The Power of Storytelling." Goldberger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic, is speaking at the end of a day when the closed blocks of Calhoun, Ann and George streets track the day's schedule.
Sunday, Nov. 15: Jenna Bush Hager and Lucy Tan at 11 a.m., Jung Chang at 1 p.m., Tim Berners-Lee on "This Is for Everyone" at 3 p.m., and James Lasdun at 5 p.m. The festival ends at 7 p.m. with a staged reading of "Freshwater," Virginia Woolf's only play, with Bernard Cornwell and Hermione Lee in the cast.
Once the festivals end, the memorial keeps its posted schedule, opening at 9 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday, free of charge.
Our office at 72 King Street is a short walk from most of this weekend's events. If you are planning your weekend or have questions about the blocks around Calhoun Street and Marion Square, Oyster Point Real Estate Group is glad to help. Contact Us.
